St. Pius X leads Odessa before storms halt play

After putting in a hard fought first half, Odessa and St. Pius X had to put their first game of the year on hold after thunderstorms rolled through Kansas City on the opening Friday night of high school football.

The two teams will resume play at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Pius X High School with St. Pius X leading 14-7.

Even as both teams shook off the preseason rust, the Warriors looked sharp from the beginning, especially on offense.

On the first series, St. Pius X moved the ball well on the ground. However, a 36-yard play action to Joe Witherow by Tommy Hoambrecker made it a 7-0 early in the first quarter.

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Hoambrecker also converted several plays with his feet, including an impressive 15-yard run past several Bulldog defenders on that series.

St. Pius X tried a balanced attack of run and pass throughout, where Odessa relied heavily on the ground and pound. Senior Mason Smith was the main back for the Bulldogs and slammed in a 2-yard score to tie the game 7-7.

Odessa is replacing many key pieces from last year’s Class 3 runner-up team, but the coaching staff is sure Jonas Bennett, Austin Weygandt and others are up to the task of making a deep run in the fall.

Before halftime, St. Pius X responded quickly with some accurate throws down the field and eventually scored on Will Brockman’s 8-yard scamper.